This invention relates to a crankcase vent system and more particularly to an improved crankcase ventilation system that insures adequate ventilation of the crankcase while also insuring against the removal of lubricant from the crankcase through the ventilating system.
The desirability of providing a flow of ventilating air through the crankcase and certain other internal passages of an internal combustion engine is well known. Recently, the discharge of the ventilating gases from the crankcase is not into the atmosphere but is back into the induction system of the engine so as to reduce the emission of unwanted vapors to the atmosphere.
When the circulating air passes through the crankcase, however, it has a tendency to pick up oil particles which are returning from the engine to the crankcase. These oil particles have been employed to lubricate the engine and are swept up with the crankcase ventilating air. It is, of course, important to insure that the lubricant is separated from the crankcase ventilating gases before it is returned to the atmosphere so as to insure against loss of lubricant and other unfavorable results. However, frequently the flow of crankcase ventilating gases is through areas of the engine that are highly heated and the lubricant particles that are contained in the ventilating air actually may tend to vaporize or reduce in size so as to make their separation difficult.
In one form of crankcase ventilating system normally used with V type engines, the valley between the banks of cylinders is used as a return conduit or passageway for the crankcase ventilating gases. This conduit may extend across all or part of the length of the engine and lies directly above the crankcase. Although the use of this volume for crankcase ventilating purposes is quite desirable, the proximity of the conduit to the highly heated crankcase tends to cause the aforenoted difficulties in connection with separation of the lubricant particles from the air before they are discharged.
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide an improved crankcase ventilating system for an internal combustion engine.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a crankcase ventilating system for an internal combustion engine wherein the crankcase ventilating gases are cooled before they are discharged to the atmosphere so as to assist in the separation of lubricant from the gases.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved arrangement for insuring that the crankcase ventilating gases of an internal combustion engine will not be overheated during their circulation so as to improve the separation of lubrication therefrom.